Day to Day
by Makita Dax
Summary: Luke and Lorelai go their separate ways, but can they be happy without each other?


Day to Day

Luke and Lorelai go their separate ways, but can they be happy without each other?

**Author's Note:**

I promise this is not a Lorelai/Christopher story, though it might seem like it at first.

I own nothing, all characters are borrowed. I promise to put them back when I'm done playing with them.

Chapter One: Sundown

When Lorelai turned into her driveway she was stunned to find Luke's truck in her driveway. Lately Luke had been sleeping more at the diner. With her ultimatum and Luke's refusal she had assumed he would have stayed there last night as well.

Lorelai wasn't ready to talk, not now. She thought she would have time to compose herself. She closed her eyes and leaned her head down onto her steering wheel. "I just need a few minutes to think," she said to herself. After a moment, when she felt she was as composed as she was ever going to be, she took a deep breath and sat up.

She screamed when she turned to get out and found Luke standing outside her car, staring at her through the window flap. "Don't do that!" she said as she exited her car.

"I came here looking for you last night," he said.

"I wasn't home," she stated blankly.

"Where were you?" he asked stepping in front of her. "I came to tell you that I was wrong. I shouldn't have dismissed your feelings like that, but I can't just run away with you at the drop of a hat. I came here to tell you that. But, I couldn't find you, again."

"Can we go in the living room? Babette is watching us from her window," she said, pointing at her neighbor who was staring unashamedly.

"Babette didn't know where you were either," Luke said ignoring her plea to move indoors. "Neither did Sookie and Jackson. When you didn't answer your phone I tried to call Rory, but I didn't have her cell phone number."

"My phone was turned off," Lorelai said.

"Then I drove to Hartford looking for you. Your mother would barely let me in the door. Yelled at me for showing up unannounced then told me that if I couldn't find you then it was probably for the best."

"You went to see my parents?" Lorelai asked astonished.

"What else was I supposed to do? You show up at the diner, demanding that I run away with you. I had to talk to you. But instead, I end up pacing your living room for five hours, waiting for you."

"I'm sorry, Luke."

Luke stared at her for a moment, expectantly. When she didn't answer he shook his head. "Fine. If you're not going to tell me where you were, that's just fine," Luke said, walking back to his truck.

"I was in Boston."

Luke turned around and started walking back to Lorelai. "You went to see Christopher? You felt that what we needed to fix this was another night of drinking with him? Lorelai, you know how I feel about him!"

"Oh that's just wonderful," she said, her voice getting louder, "I knew how you felt about Christopher, but it was a complete mystery about how you felt about me. Well I'm glad you could make your feeling about someone clear."

"I love you Lorelai, that's how I feel," Luke said with sudden tenderness. "I've loved you for a long time. I'm sorry if I haven't been clear on that."

Lorelai pulled away, stopping him before he tried to kiss her. "I didn't spend the night drinking with Chris," Lorelai softly.

Luke took a step back and looked at her. "You didn't?" Luke said hopefully.

"I slept with him," she said. Luke's face went pale and he just stared at her. "Luke, say something," she said after what felt like an eternity. Luke gave a little grunt, turned around, and walked back to his car. Lorelai watched him drive away without even looking back into her direction.

"That works too," she said to herself when his truck drove out of view.

Fighting back tears, she walked into the house. When she set her keys down she saw a bouquet of roses laying on the coffee table. She walked over and picked up the card. _I'm sorry. Just wanted you to know, I'm still all in. _She read in Luke's handwriting. Dropping the card back onto the table, she sank down onto couch crying.

When the phone rang, Lorelai was snapped out of her daze. _"Mom, are you there? You're not answering your cell phone."_ Lorelai jumped up and ran to the phone when she heard Rory's voice.

"I'm here," she said.

"_Logan's gone, Mom." _Rory said crying.

"Luke's gone too."

"_I'll be right over," _Rory said after a long pause.

The day after the fight Lorelai tried to go back to work. She spent a half an hour hovering around the desk until Michel chased her into her office on the pretext that she was depressing the guests. Lorelai tried to concentrate on invoices while she was in the office but spent most of her time staring at the wall.

It was over with Luke. She said it out loud, hoping that it would feel more real to her when she did. When she tried, the words sounded strange, like a foreign language. Her brain refused to focus on the sounds. Instead of feeling better, she just felt more confused and hollow.

She would have gone on for much longer like that, just sitting and staring, but she was interrupted when Sookie's head popped though the door. Lorelai winced; she had been avoiding the kitchen. Sookie was bound to have heard about the fight outside of the diner. "There you are," she said sat down across from Lorelai. She set a cup of coffee down next to her friend and sat and stared at her.

"I don't want to talk about," Lorelai said.

"Michel said you had been crying."

"He said that?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, not exactly. He said you were puffy and frumpy looking, and that your eyes were red. It just sounded better that way," Sookie trailed off and frowned at her. "_Have_ you been crying?"

Lorelai smiled at her friend's concern. "I have, but I'm done crying," she said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Ok," Sookie said, but she sounded like she didn't fully believe her. "So?" she asked, staring at Lorelai expectantly.

"So, Luke and I are over," she said. This time she forced herself to recognize the words for what they are. She knew Sookie would be watching her, so she was careful to look as neutral as possible.

"What, how?" Sookie asked.

"We had a fight, a huge fight. I walked away, and when he didn't follow me I went to see Christopher."

"You didn't," Sookie said, horrified.

"I didn't intend to sleep with him. I just wanted someone to talk to, but when I got there I was so hurt and confused and he was so kind and willing to talk."

"Slept as in sex?" Sookie asked. When Lorelai leveled a you-must-keep-up stare at her she threw up her hands. "I just wanted to make absolutely sure."

"And the worse part is, while it did feel wrong that was I cheating on Luke, it still felt… like Christopher."

"Like Christopher?"

"I don't know how to explain it. I've known him forever. When Rory was a kid I used to wait for him to get his act together and come be with us, like a family should be. He would show up from time to time, pull me in completely. Then he would be gone and I would be derailed, devastated. Even though I know he's bad for me and that I'll be worse off and feeling empty in the long run, I still embrace him. For a little while, he's comforting and familiar."

"Like Chinese food. It's really good when you're eating it, but you're hungry after an hour. Plus, it reeks havoc with your digestion," Sookie said knowingly.

"Yeah, like that," Lorelai said.

"So what are you going to do?"

Lorelai shrugged, but before she was able to answer her cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID she sighed. "It's Luke."

"Well, answer it," Sookie told her.

"Too late," Lorelai said, switching her phone off. "He hung up."

"You turned your phone off!" Sookie accused.

"I most certainly did not," Lorelai answered. "He might of changed his mind."

When the office phone started to ring Sookie look at her and said, "I'm sure he did."

Lorelai sighed. "Just, please answer it, Sookie."

Sookie make a 'tsk' noise but picked up the phone. "Dragonfly Inn…. No, she's not… I'm sorry Luke, Michel was confused. She was here, but she left… Ok, if I see her I'll tell her… Bye Luke.

"Well?" Lorelai asked.

"He's going over to the house to get his stuff. He wanted you go know."

"I got so upset when he took the boat last year," Lorelai said, starting to cry. Luke was getting his stuff. "It's over with Luke," she said, crying. This time it felt real This time it _was_ real.

When Lorelai finally emerged from her fit of crying a few minutes later, Sookie firmly told her to go home. "Take some time off," she said. "Michel and I can handle things. I'll call you if we need you."

Lorelai reluctantly agreed to go home.

When Lorelai got home, the first thing she noticed was the absence of Luke's boat. Staring at her once-again empty garage, she decided it was time to make The Luke Box. She went inside and started to gather up anything and everything that reminded her of Luke.

She started in the kitchen, piling things on the kitchen table. She had thought that Luke would have taken most of the things that would remind her of him, but she found that he didn't take as much as she thought he would. What was left was either stuff he has always had, or stuff that he bought new for her. Everything to do with cooking reeked of Luke. After only a few minutes work the table was covered in almost everything in the kitchen that wasn't junk food. After she gave it some thought, she decided that the table, as well, would have to go.

Luke never had bent her over the kitchen table, even though she had dropped teasing hints from time to time. Once she even told him she wanted to re-enact the table scene from Bull Durham, but he dismissed it as one of her crazy ramblings. However, she had fantasized about it far too often for her peace of mind. Yes, the table would have to go.

Abandoning the kitchen, Lorelai moved to the living room, hoping to find a less imposing task. Unfortunately, the living room was filled with more memories then the kitchen. The entranceway was where Luke had kissed her after he came back to her. The couch is where they made up. She looked around the room and glanced in the direction of the stairs. The whole house permeated Luke.

"There isn't a box big enough. The whole house will have to go," she said to herself. She sighed heavily and walked over to the phone book, intent on looking up the number of real estate office to call in the morning.

Before she found the listing the phone rang. "Hello," she said wearily.

"_Hi Lor," _Chris said.

"Christopher,"

"_Before you say anything, I just want to tell you that what happened the other night meant something to me. I love you and I'm glad you came to me, what ever the reason. Just give me a chance. I want to see you."_

At least one of them is willing to fight for her. She knew she would regret it, but how much worse can it get. It least being with Chris would distract her from the feelings of emptiness. "Ok Chris."

"_Great. When do want to get together?" _Chris said, trying to hide the surprise in his voice. Lorelai supposed he hadn't expected to win this easily.

"I can be there this evening."

"_You won't regret it. What do you feel like eating.?"_

"Chinese," Lorelai said.

Lorelai did get around to making an appointment with the real estate office. Since she had been in Boston for the last few days with Chris, she didn't want to make a scene by being seen out and about in Star's Hollow. She decided to meet the agent at the Inn, hoping she would be able to slip in without anyone tipping off the town.

"Lorelai, what are you doing here? I thought you were taking some time off." Michel asked when Lorelai walked into the Dragonfly. He pouted and shot a dirty look back to the direction of the kitchen. "Sookie called you, did she? It was not a fight, we had a disagreement, that is all."

"Nice to see you too, Michel," she said, walking toward the dining room.

"She wanted to display her cookies and other horrible fattening things here in the lobby. She wanted a display case next to my desk, so I could sell them as I check people in and out. I told her she could not. I am not a cookie seller, Lorelai. I can't have food in the lobby, mocking me. I just have to be able to fit in my slim line pants if I don't want to die single and alone."

"I'm not here because of Sookie, you can relax."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I'm meeting a realtor to talk about selling my house. I'm not exactly going about telling everyone though. But, Michel?"

"Yes, Lorelai?" he asked.

"I could really use one of those cookies you were talking about. Be a doll and fetch me one," she said smiling. She laughed when Michel turned on his heel and walked back into the lobby. She could swear that she heard him muttering to himself about the devil.

She only had to wait a few minuets for the realtor to show up. She groaned when she saw the front door open and saw Kirk walk in wearing his goofy looking jacket with a stack of papers under his arm. Kirk usually gave up on his new ventures by now and Lorelai was fully expecting a actual real estate agent to meet her.

Moments later he came over to the dining room. "Ms Gilmore, I'm Kirk. I'm here to talk about your estate."

"Sit down Kirk, I know who you are."

"Oh, right," Kirk said, sitting down across from Lorelai. "I have good news, I've found buyer for you house."

"Wow, that's quick. I wasn't expecting it to sell so quick. Wait, we haven't even shown the house. Kirk, who would buy a house without seeing it?" Lorelai asked.

"I do."

"You want to buy my house?"

"Well, no, I can't. But I want you to sell it to the real estate office at above fair market value. Then I will become the property manager while we take the time to search for a buyer, the right buyer."

"Above fair market value?"

"Yes, I went to bat for you on that. Usually we offer to buy at fair market value, or slightly below it. I got you a better deal."

"So, your offering to sell my house for me, without me having to go through the hassle of doing the actual selling?

"Essentially, yes. We also will cover all the closing costs and other fees. Do you have any bats?"

"No, Kirk. No bats."

"Good, I can't sell a house with bats, not again. Then all I need is your signature."

"Good. I just need for this to be over."


End file.
